Photo by Peter Chen/The Post-Standard.Investigators examine the wreckage of a fatal Megabus accident on Onondaga Lake Parkway. The accident killed four passengers on the bus, which had about 25 passengers at the time. The double decker bus hit the railroad bridge abutment on Sept. 11.

Salina, NY – The estate of a pastor who was among four people killed when a Megabus slammed into the bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway in Salina has filed a lawsuit alleging the bus company pressured drivers to cut corners.

The suit filed by the Rev. Benjamin Okorie's estate accuses Megabus of running a bus line "which operated by providing low cost tickets to passengers, cut corners with safety, encouraged and pressured drivers to quickly arrive at their destinations to maximize the amount of trips each driver and or bus can make, to minimize turn around time, thereby maximizing profits."

Okorie, 35, was a native of Nigeria who later became a Malaysian citizen. He was on his way to preach at a Buffalo church when the Megabus he was riding in slammed into the railroad bridge over Onondaga Lake Parkway on Sept. 11, killing the pastor and three others.

The lawsuit is the seventh filed by injured passengers or by the families of people who died in the crash. It was filed at first in state Supreme Court in Onondaga County and moved on June 15 to U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. See complete Megabus crash coverage.

The suit asks for at least $75,000. Michael H. Joseph, the lawyer representing the estate and Okorie’s wife, Mona Okorie, in the suit, said he believes the bus company's actions justify a "seven-figure award."

Coach USA has not returned phone calls seeking comment.

Discount bus companies charge lower fares to attract customers, but to be profitable they need to have the vehicles turn around quickly and minimize downtime, Joseph said.

“We believe it played a role in this situation,” he said.

Okorie’s suit also faults Tomaszewski for failing to pay attention to numerous signs on Onondaga Lake Parkway warning of the low bridge, using his personal GPS unit while driving, and for failing to follow company protocol.

In May, Tomaszewski, 60, of New Jersey, was arraigned in Onondaga County Court on four felony counts of criminally negligent homicide. He was also charged with failure to obey a traffic-control device.